Sportorn is Designed to Keep You Up-to-Date with Everything You Need to Know About the World of Sport.
⎯ 《 Sportorn • Com 》

List of All Articles with Tag 't'

MLB Power Rankings: The best free agent on every Wild Card team
MLB Power Rankings: The best free agent on every Wild Card team
With the MLB playoffs beginning on Tuesday with the Wild Card round, we take a look at the players who could be in high demand by other teams in 2024.
2023-10-02 21:48
Premier League rumors: Osimhen to Chelsea, Smith Rowe to Villa, Modric to Miami
Premier League rumors: Osimhen to Chelsea, Smith Rowe to Villa, Modric to Miami
Today's Premier League rumors include Victor Osimhen linked with Chelsea. Emile Smith Rowe could be on his way out of Arsenal and Lionel Messi wants Luka Modric to join him at Inter Miami.
2023-10-02 21:29
Kevin Harvick's crew chief denies cheating led to Harvick's disqualification at Talladega
Kevin Harvick's crew chief denies cheating led to Harvick's disqualification at Talladega
The crew chief for Kevin Harvick insisted he didn't cheat and race conditions caused Harvick to become the first driver disqualified at Talladega Superspeedway since 1972
2023-10-02 21:29
Rodney Harrison Tried Really Hard to Get Chris Jones to Say Zach Wilson Sucks in Awkward Interview
Rodney Harrison Tried Really Hard to Get Chris Jones to Say Zach Wilson Sucks in Awkward Interview
VIDEO: Chris Jones and Rodney Harrison had a couple awkward exchanges about Zach Wilson.
2023-10-02 21:22
Man United defender Lisandro Martinez to have a second operation on his injured right foot
Man United defender Lisandro Martinez to have a second operation on his injured right foot
Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez will undergo surgery on his right foot for an injured metatarsal
2023-10-02 21:22
5 reasons the Golden State Warriors season could end with a championship in 2024
5 reasons the Golden State Warriors season could end with a championship in 2024
The Golden State Warriors were eliminated in the 2023 Western Conference semifinals by the Los Angeles Lakers. With Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green continuing to age their window to add more championships is closing.
2023-10-02 21:21
Erik ten Hag confirms Lisandro Martinez to undergo foot surgery
Erik ten Hag confirms Lisandro Martinez to undergo foot surgery
Erik ten Hag has confirmed that Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez is set to go undergo surgery on a recurrent foot injury.
2023-10-02 21:18
VAR was supposed to cut out errors. Now the integrity of the Premier League is in question
VAR was supposed to cut out errors. Now the integrity of the Premier League is in question
VAR was supposed to put an end to all of this
2023-10-02 21:17
The Premier League now faces a credibility ‘crisis’ – and latest VAR farce is just the tip
The Premier League now faces a credibility ‘crisis’ – and latest VAR farce is just the tip
By Saturday evening, as has become protocol but also a frustrating norm, Howard Webb felt he had no choice but to apologise to Liverpool for the Luis Diaz decision. Jurgen Klopp might well repeat the question as to who that actually helps, but a failure to communicate such a sentiment would have made it worse. That’s partly because it is actually a failure of communication that is at the core of the controversy, which now poses a genuine credibility crisis for the Premier League. "It's an image problem," as one involved figure put it, with Liverpool themselves describing the situation as “unacceptable” in an unprecedented statement. Because, for all the focus on the nature of VAR, this is an issue that really comes down to basic human error. The details at the root of the story, though, are remarkable. If we are to take the referees’ body Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL)’s explanation at face value – that this represented a “momentary lapse in concentration” – the VAR didn’t actually know what it was supposed to be looking at. Darren England and Dan Cook thought they were checking whether a goal should stand, rather than an offside call as referee Simon Hooper ruled, which was partly why the decision was made so quickly. It ended up creating the farcical situation that a communication of “check complete” led to a fair strike being wrongly disallowed in a completely preventable fashion. After that, how was it that play was allowed to proceed, given those involved would have had immediate knowledge that this was wrong? The IFAB rules dictate that play cannot be called back once it has resumed, but was no one watching in the meantime? Would hasty shouts not have been made as soon as they saw Spurs shaping to take the free kick? It has since emerged that the VAR and fourth official team of England, Cook and Michael Oliver were officiating a game in the UAE Pro League as late as Thursday evening, which has raised fair questions within the game over fatigue was a potential explanation for that “momentary lapse in concentration”. Whatever the reason, it has created a credibility crisis, to go with much wider-reaching controversies like the unresolved Financial Fair Play cases involving Manchester City and Everton. That is all the worse for the Premier League since this is an issue the competition prides itself on and is seen as a significant factor in its status as the most popular league in the world. Fans could trust what they were seeing. Instead, this latest controversy also comes on the back of a long-term and increasing hostility and suspicion of VAR from a significant part of football's support. It was for this reason that Webb was recently brought in as PGMOL chief in the first place, and many within the game say he has been gradually realising the scale of the challenge. Hostility to VAR goes hand in hand with a widely perceived “crisis” in the level of refereeing, which is commonly cited as the worst in years. It should be stressed that this is all in circumstances where officials are under far more scrutiny than ever before. There are more cameras to reveal every element of a decision – and whether they should have taken a different one – in a manner that was unimaginable in the supposed golden days right up to the mid-2000s. Even Klopp acknowledged the extreme “pressure” on officials, which undoubtedly plays into errors that they obviously don’t make “on purpose”, as the Liverpool manager put it. Discussions such as this should never go without mentioning how the real crisis with refereeing is at lower levels, and the scale of the abuse they receive. It has undeniably affected the talent pool at the top, and there is a bigger debate to be had over whether it should be a better-remunerated profession to match both the talent they are overseeing and their necessity in getting the game played. The introduction of VAR itself was nevertheless supposed to be a remedy for all of this and – at its core – an “aid” for referees. It has instead had the inadvertent effect of making all discussion much more poisonous and pressurised. That comes from a disconnect between the implied expectation and stated intention of VAR, the actual application and the communication. The very nature of the technology has created an expectation of perfection, even though it was only ever supposed to improve accuracy to around 98 per cent. This has happened, but the fundamental problem is that the remaining 2 per cent tend to be hugely high-profile errors. That is by definition given the threshold for VAR to get involved. There has previously been very little communication on how those decisions were made, which has had the effect of only deepening suspicion among supporters. The vacuum of information inevitably leads to speculation and then to conspiracy theories. While this isn’t to say there is any legitimacy whatsoever in the latter, since the most likely explanation is always basic human error, it does have the real-world effect of further toxifying the atmosphere around refereeing. This in turn puts even more pressure on them, because their integrity is unfairly questioned. It is why the very technology of VAR has deepened this problem. Whereas error could previously have been written off as officials going off their own sight and instinct – even if the reason VAR was introduced was because of criticism of referees in the first place – they now have access to so much more technological aid. Many more fans consequently see the only possible explanation as some kind of corruption. You only have to take a glance on social media. This is why better communication is essential. Webb’s great mission has been to improve that, and he has generally done a better job, but it’s fair to say the response to Saturday made this worse. Liverpool were perplexed at how long it took for a statement to be made about the offside, the PGMOL eventually only commenting in the middle of Klopp’s post-game press conference. It was actually The Independent that made him aware of their statement, to the Liverpool manager's increased bemusement. The explanation that the VAR actually checked for the wrong call then came even later, as it felt like every development deepened the crisis. There are at least a number of logical steps that can be taken to address that. One of those is not to just remove VAR, since this is a non-starter that goes way beyond England and up to Fifa. It is here to stay. That’s also why it’s just vital that cases like this lead to improvement. One first step is to limit this extra work abroad – as England and Cook’s appointment in the UAE was within the rules and actually approved by the FA. Another is to improve the communication so there is absolutely no ambiguity. It is simple to go from “check complete” to “the decision should be a goal”, or equivalent. That also raises the most obvious solution of all. All of the communication between the referee and VAR should be made audible and accessible, so as to eliminate any ambiguity. People might still disagree with decisions, but they would at least be able to understand why they are made. That goes a long way to creating acceptance of VAR. When it was raised whether the audio from this decision would be made public, one response was that Match Officials Mic’d Up is now a monthly show so it will likely feature on that. The reality is that the Premier League could do with it coming out now, because of the number of questions that are being asked. Liverpool themselves called for the review to have “full transparency”. "This is vital for the reliability of future decision making as it applies to all clubs with learnings being used to make improvements to processes in order to ensure this kind of situation cannot occur again,” the club said. It doesn’t help that this comes amid even greater credibility questions for the Premier League, as everyone awaits the outcome of the charges against Manchester City and Everton over alleged Financial Fair Play breaches. Many of the sport’s “stakeholders” are now livid at this. Even for broadcasters, this affects the credibility of the product they put on television. That trust is what the game is founded on. In the meantime, Liverpool are exploring “the range of options available, given the clear need for escalation and resolution”. An apology, evidently, is not enough. Read More Every VAR apology so far: From Liverpool offside to Man City handball Liverpool to ‘explore options’ in response to ‘unacceptable’ VAR error VAR officials who made Liverpool error took charge of UAE match just 48 hours before Every VAR apology so far: From Liverpool offside to Man City handball More VAR disapproval as Nottingham Forest and Brentford both berate decisions Liverpool to ‘explore options’ in response to ‘unacceptable’ VAR error
2023-10-02 20:54
Antony in contention for Manchester United return against Galatasaray
Antony in contention for Manchester United return against Galatasaray
Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag confirmed Antony could return in the Champions League clash against Galatasaray amid police inquiries into allegations of abuse against him. The 23-year-old was given a leave of absence by the club last month to deal with the allegations that the winger has always strongly denied. Antony returned to the UK from Brazil last week and attended a voluntary interview with Greater Manchester Police, with United saying on Friday that he was back available for selection. The winger returned to training on Saturday and could feature against Turkish champions Galatasaray at Old Trafford, a month on from his last appearance at Arsenal. “Antony will be in consideration, but yesterday was his first time back in team training,” United boss Ten Hag said. “We have a final training (session) and then we make a decision, but he will be in consideration, yeah.” Antony is facing several accusations of physical aggression towards his former girlfriend Gabriela Cavallin, who spoke to Brazilian outlet UOL earlier this month. The winger has denied those allegations, as well as further assault claims made by Rayssa de Freitas and Ingrid Lana. Antony will be in consideration, but yesterday was his first time back in team training Erik ten Hag Cavallin is reportedly set to speak to police later this week and Ten Hag was asked what Antony’s return to the squad says to victims of domestic violence. “So, he cooperated fully,” the United boss said, having not heard the initial question. “It came out he’s not charged, so…” Antony is back involved, but fellow attacker Jadon Sancho remains banished from a first-team squad beset by injuries. Full-backs Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Luke Shaw, Tyrell Malacia and Sergio Reguilon are out, while Amad Diallo and Kobbie Mainoo have been unable to feature this season. Now key centre-back Lisandro Martinez is facing up to three months on the sidelines. The Argentina international underwent surgery after sustaining a fractured metatarsal in April’s Europa League quarter-final first leg against Sevilla. Martinez returned to action this term, but an aggravation of that foot injury means he again has to go under the knife at a key point of the season. “I can confirm Licha Martinez will have to undergo surgery,” Ten Hag said. “So, the team news is probably Antony dos Santos can return.” United head into Tuesday’s match in desperate need of a win, not only due to losing their Champions League opener 4-3 at Bayern Munich but because of Saturday’s meek 1-0 loss to Crystal Palace. That Old Trafford defeat brought them back down to earth with a bump after much-needed back-to-back wins, putting them under intense pressure and scrutiny once again. “Of course we are disappointed about the result,” Ten Hag said. “Then you have to analyse the game, where were the problems, then you have to move forward, but also give solutions for the problems.” Ten Hag believes “the team is moving forward” despite the results, saying there are positives among the negatives. Marcus Rashford’s performances have been among United’s issues, having scored just once after a campaign in which he plundered 30 goals in all competitions. “The facts are that he is not scoring in this moment, but also he had the opportunities,” Ten Hag said of the misfiring England international. “I think, for instance, in the game against Brighton, there were five or six occasions when he was in a very good spot. “If he works hard and if he invests every day, goes into every game with the right focus and if the team also around him supply him, help him and support him with movement then it will come. “Then Marcus Rashford is a player who is capable of always scoring goals in every game and when he’s coming in the right spots he will score.”
2023-10-02 20:52
Dads are delighted by the NFL's 'Toy Story' broadcast for kids
Dads are delighted by the NFL's 'Toy Story' broadcast for kids
On Sunday (October 1), NFL viewers had a choice: watch the game as they always have on ESPN, or watch the same game, in real-time, in Andy's Bedroom from the Toy Story franchise on Disney+. The NFL's annual London game took place at Wembley Stadium with the Jacksonville Jaguars up against the Atlanta Falcons and as part of an alternate telecast, the NFL brought 'Toy Story Funday Football' to viewers screens. Everything was animated in real-time, made possible by chips in the players' football pads, combined with an overhead tracking camera on the field. It was a pretty impressive pull-off from the collaborative efforts of the NFL, Disney and Pixar, with viewers loving the game, which included a halftime show featuring Duke Caboom: Not only is it a fun alternative to watching the regular game, but it also entices children to get involved in watching, and potentially playing, football. To say fathers across the globe were grateful is an understatement. One dad shared that his daughters had never watched football with him until the Toy Story game: A video uploaded to TikTok showed two children staring up at the screen, with the text overlay reading "Thank You NFL - Sincerely, Dads Everywhere": @calibreezybaby I have my Sundays back 😂 #tiktok #foryou #fyp #video #toystory #nfl #haha And there are plenty of other videos showing children glued to the screen whilst parents watch the game in peace: @arosales92 Watching Toy Story Funday Football with my girls #fyp#CCfyp#disney #disneyplus #pixar #toystory #football #twins #momsoftiktok #toddlersoftiktok There were a few glitches during the animated game, such as not cutting back to the game in time, but it was an extremely impressive and original watch, with many asking the NFL to have a Toy Story game every week. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
2023-10-02 20:46
Rangers next manager: Ralph Hasenhuttl and three other candidates to replace Michael Beale
Rangers next manager: Ralph Hasenhuttl and three other candidates to replace Michael Beale
Rangers are searching for a new manager following the sacking of Michael Beale on Sunday. Here the PA news agency takes a look at some of the candidates who may be given consideration by the Ibrox hierarchy: Kevin Muscat The 50-year-old former Australia defender - who played for Rangers in the 2002-03 season - is currently flourishing in charge of Japanese club Yokohama F. Marinos after succeeding the Celtic-bound Ange Postecoglou in the role in the summer of 2021. Won the Japanese league title last year and his team are currently second, four points off the top with five games to play. Jesse Marsch As part of the Red Bull group, the 49-year-old American came to prominence when he led Austrian side Red Bull Salzburg - who had Erling Haaland in attack in his first season in charge - to two consecutive league and cup doubles. Renowned for his high-intensity approach, Marsch earned a crack at the Leeds job in February 2022 following the sacking of Marcelo Bielsa and ensured they stayed in the Premier League, but a poor start to his first full season at Elland Road led to him being sacked back in February. Was interviewed about vacancies at Southampton and Leicester earlier this year but remains out of work. Kjetil Knutsen The 54-year-old Norwegian has made a name for himself after establishing Bodo/Glimt as one of the top teams in Norway since taking charge in 2018. Led them to their first-ever title win in 2020 and followed up the feat a year later. Currently a point clear at the top of the Eliteserien after 23 games. Has also overseen some impressive European runs over the past three seasons, most notably in the 2021/22 campaign when Bodo/Glimt reached the quarter-finals of the Conference League after defeating Postecoglou’s Celtic 5-1 on aggregate. Ralph Hasenhuttl The Austrian, 56, is still out of work after losing his job at Southampton a year ago following a poor start to last season. Landing the highly-regarded former RB Leipzig manager would be viewed as something of a coup for Rangers. Derek McInnes The 52-year-old former Rangers midfielder turned down the Ibrox job in 2017 while he was on a long and fruitful stint in charge of Aberdeen. Following his departure from Pittodrie, McInnes has done an impressive job with Kilmarnock, leading them from the Championship and re-establishing them in the top flight. He has already overseen victories over both Glasgow sides this season. Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers endorsed him as a potential Ibrox boss in August. “He was very close to getting the Rangers job a few years ago and why couldn’t he manage Rangers?” said Rodgers. “He’s a former player there, a very good player, who was part of a successful era for the club so there’s no doubt that could be one for him in the future because he’s an outstanding manager.” PA Read More Rangers sack Michael Beale following home defeat to Aberdeen Tottenham ‘disgusted’ as Destiny Udogie racially abused after Liverpool game Antony could return to Manchester United squad despite assault investigations Tottenham ‘disgusted’ as Destiny Udogie racially abused after Liverpool game Antony could return to Manchester United squad despite assault investigations Every VAR apology so far: From Liverpool offside to Man City handball
2023-10-02 20:29
«837838839840»